Deathwing
by acw28
Summary: 100 wins and you'll be free. That was what every gladiator was told when they first step foot into the arena. Many train hard to reach the unattainable number, but he knows different. He knows that he, and most likely his friend, are bound to die in the ring for other's amusement. Despite himself, he can accept that fact, until his master bought her.
1. A New Beginning

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with another new story!**

 **So this story is one of four that I'm publishing because I've either had the idea for a long time or I've been thinking about it too much. After you've read this, and the others if they strike your interest, can you head over to my profile and vote on which one I should develop more? Thank you.**

 **So I got the idea for this while reading a different fanfic, which for the life of me I can't remember the title of. Anyway, at the end of one of their author's notes they mentioned they'd only be writing one story at a time but they had a few ideas on what to write next, one of them being a gladiator AU. I left a review saying that I'd really want to see that, and the idea stuck with me, resulting in this story.**

 **Even though I'm a History Major, I'm not a historian. I will have some elements that are historically accurate, but much of the gladiator system I'm using is going to be historically inspired. Also before anyone asks, no Hiccup and Toothless will not be in Rome, just a decent sized Roman settlement. Remember this fic is rated "M" for a reason.**

 **One last thing before we get this show on the road, I'd like to thank** **Eretsonoferet for allowing me to bounce around some ideas and help develop the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the** _ **How to Train Your Dragon**_ **franchise, Dreamworks (a.k.a. possibly the only company with a hope of combating Disney) does.**

* * *

"Watch yourself Hiccup." Chief Stoick the Vast of Berk said as he pulled his six year old son out of the path of a walking Viking. The boy didn't seemed fazed at almost getting squashed as his head rotated to follow one of the ropes from the rigging. Despite himself, Stoick chuckled at his son's curiosity. Although the brown haired child was lanky, both traits that were inherited from his mother, the Chief still believed that his son will fill out in a few years and be the pride of his village, but that didn't stop him from indulging in showing his son some of his chiefly duties.

That was why the father and son, along with several other Vikings, had spent the last week on the long boat on the fishing expedition. Although Berk had sheep and yak, a large portion of the Viking diet consisted of fish, and as Chief it was Stoick's responsibility to ensure that his people had enough food. This duty came in many forms, such as bartering for seeds and other ingredients, defending the food stores during a dragon raid, or, as he was doing know, supervising a fishing expedition. What really concerned Stoick was how close Winter was, and that the food stores weren't completely full. That is why he and several of his strongest warriors, freed from defense of the island as the dragon were currently away and other tribes were more concerned with getting their own food, were on this expedition to get as much fish as soon as possible. Luckily the navigator knew the way to a particularly abundant, if out of the way, spot.

As Stoick recalled how much food was stored back on the island and made a quick guess as to how much fish need to be caught, he noticed that he'd lost sight of Hiccup once more. Thankfully a quick look around revealed the energetic youngster to be standing beside one of Stoick's closest friends, Gobber the Belch, who was showing the boy how to do a difficult knot. Releasing a brief chuckle as his son tied his hands together, and knowing the boy was in good hands, the giant of a man turned around as the first nets were cast.

On the other side of the boat, another man stared at Hiccup but in distain. Alvin use to be close with Stoick and to a lesser extent Gobber. He fondly remembered the youthful days the trio spent trying to bash each other's skulls in. And then Stoick was named Chief and met that woman. Really he was the leader of the tribe, he could literally have any woman he wanted and he picks her, someone with no muscle who would stop Vikings from finishing off downed dragons. If that wasn't bad enough Alvin could tell the boy was taking after his mother. While the rest of the village deluded itself into thinking the boy would fill out like his father, Alvin could tell that the boy would never be more than a hiccup, unfit to lead the village.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Alvin didn't hate the boy personally, but he wanted his village to survive. It wouldn't be so bad if Stoick would remarry after his wife was carried off by one of the foul beasts, then he could have some more kids, give himself more options for when it came time to name a heir. Instead the man stubbornly refused to accept any offers presented to him, to make matters worse the Chief would devote any free time he had to the hiccup of his son.

So lost in his thoughts was he that Alvin didn't recognize the tail tale bubbles in the water as the fishing nets were being raised, however Gobber did. "Get those nets up quick!" The peg legged man yelled as he used both his hands to pull the nearest rope as fast as he could. "The beasts are after the meal!"

It turned into chaos around the boat as each man did their jobs as fast as possible. As the nets broke the water's surface, so did the dragons. Alvin cursed his luck as he observed the Scauldron on the port side while a Thunderdrum was on the starboard. As the men prepared to grab their weapons, Stoick called out, "Wait!" Although every instinct said to attack, the men obeyed their leader. "The devils are more concerned about each other than us," it was true, both dragons began circling the boat, sizing up their opponent. "Our main concern is making sure we have enough food for the Winter, let's leave the beasts to themselves and get home." Although wanting to battle, the men none the less obeyed.

Just because they were retreating didn't mean it was smooth sailing. As the catch was hauled onto the deck, the Scauldron would charge at the other dragon, the resulting large waves would rock the boat and quite a few of the shields fell into the water. Meanwhile the screeches from the defending Thunderdrum made hearing orders next to impossible. As Alvin once more cursed his luck, he felt something bump into him. Getting ready to yell at the clumsy shipmate, the man instead saw Hiccup. The words stopped in Alvin's throat as Hiccup apologized, but the man didn't respond, instead he noted how close to the railing the boy was.

The idea was a spur of the moment thought and may cause more problems down the road, but it would insure his tribe wouldn't fall due to the incompetence of a hiccup. After insuring no one was looking, Alvin roughly shoved the much lighter child over the railing, the splash being concealed by the noise on deck and the dueling dragons. Just as the boat was pulling away, Alvin saw Hiccup break the surface of the water and somehow manage to climb on one of the stray shields. Even now the boy called for someone to help him, but with the surrounding chaos the boy might as well have been mute. 'Sorry kid, but the village is more important than one man.'

Once the fishing boat was clear of the dragons, Stoick released a great laugh. "Way to go lads. We escape the devils and kept all of our catch." The assembled Vikings gave a great cheer." Alright enough of that," the chief ordered, "everyone back to their posts, we need to get home and back to our beds. I bet Hiccup is exhausted." The man then threw a few quick glances around the boat before asking, "Has anyone seen the lad?" When no one answered, Stoick grew deathly pale. "Everyone to their post!" he yelled, "We're turning around!"

"We can't!" a voice rang out from the back. Mildew could be described as the sickliest Viking in existence, and yet man were willing to bet he'd outlive almost everyone. The frail man was a pain, as weak as he was old. The only reason why Stoick brought him along was because he was the only one who knew of the hidden fishing spot, information that was vital this close to winter. "Our ship is full," Mildew continued, "and it's at least half a week's journey back to Berk. We must get this fish into the storehouses if we don't want it to spoil. No single person is more important than an entire village, not even the Chief's son!"

Stoick was red in the face and shook with anger as he said through gritted teeth, "And what of the rest of ya? Do you agree?" No one present but Gobber, who was still trying to readjust the sail by himself, could meet the man's eyes. "Fine then," Stoick said as he stalked over to the railing, preparing to jump overboard, "I'll see you all back at home." Instantly everyone present rushed towards the chief to stop him from jumping into the water. "Let go of me!" the giant of the man said as he tried to struggle out of the men's grip, "I need to get my boy!" The chief was only silenced after someone brought a hammer to the man's head, knocking Stoick out. From there, a number of men lifted Stoick onto their shoulders and took him to his cabin.

After the door slammed the men slowly went back to work. Unseen by all, Alvin smirked. His plan worked. True, he'd probably do something soon that would cause him to be banished, but Berk would survive, and without a heir all he had to do was wait for Stoick to pass before returning and conquering what was once his home. Sure it'd take time, but Alvin was nothing but a patient, if violent, man.

* * *

Hiccup shivered as he balanced on the shield. He still tried calling out for help but knew that he'd been left behind. As his voice grew horse and he shivered from the cold, the boy couldn't help wondering what would become of him. Would he ever see Berk and his annoying cousin again, or was his story ending here in the middle of the ocean? As he pondered this, he also saw the stars coming out and grew tired. Moving carefully, the boy laid down on the shield and curled his hands and feet inward in an attempt to keep warm and to keep out of the water, which he hoped he didn't roll into in his sleep.

As Hiccup slept, he didn't see the mammoth shadow underneath his makeshift raft. As the gigantic dragon swam in the depths, one of its spins along its back managed to catch the leather strap on the back of the shield and pulled the piece of wood, along with the boy on top of it, along. The strap held out for hours, until the stress became too much and it broke apart. By then the boy and the shield had traveled a considerable distance and ended up in a strong current that continued to carry the boy off into the night.

* * *

When the morning came, Hiccup couldn't believe his eyes as he saw his shield had drifted onto a beach. Hesitantly, the boy stood up before walking onto the sand and towards the forest. As he wandered further inland, his stomach growled and he noticed his growing thirst. After stumbling around for what seemed like hours, Hiccup thanked Odin when he found some wild barriers next to a wild spring. Just as he was about to pick a few, a snapping twig caused the boy to turn around.

Standing before the boy was a dragon he'd never seen. Bigger than a Terror, but smaller than a Nadder, Hiccup, too afraid to move, just watched as the jet black, green eyed reptile slowly walked forward. He stood absolutely still as the dragon inched closer and sniffed him before sitting back on his, Hiccup assumed the dragon was a boy, hunches and cocked his head to the side. Despite growing up with tales of the evils dragons had done, Hiccup couldn't help himself as he smiled at the odd behavior. The dragon saw this and tried to copy the boy, moving its trembling "lips" away from its mouth to reveal plain gums.

"Toothless huh?" Hiccup voiced his thoughts aloud. "I thought all dragons had," the boy was interrupted as the dragon unsheathed his teeth and bounded into the water to retrieve a fish before dropping it at the boy's feet, "teeth." Hiccup finished.

The dragon didn't move after his sudden bout of activity. Instead he continued to stare at Hiccup, occasionally shifting his gaze to the fish then back to Hiccup. The boy eventually got the message and grabbed the fish before using a nearby stick to descale part of it and take a bite of the raw meat. After swallowing, he tried to give the rest back to the dragon, only for the reptile to nudge the offered food back to the boy. Finally after eating half the fish, the boy's hunger was stated, while a quick drink from the stream allowed the boy to re-hydrate. After he finished the meal, the boy stared at the dragon before the reptile started slowly moving forward. Not seeing any ill intentions, Hiccup slowly approached the creature with an outstretched hand. Just as the boy was about to touch the dragon, both were frozen by a loud roar. Walking out of the trees was the largest dragon Hiccup had ever seen, he could only describe it as an extra large version of a Monstrous Nightmare. (A/N: it's a Typhoomerang).

The dragon bent down and was about to roar at Hiccup again until the smaller dragon stepped in front of the boy and growled at the larger reptile. From there Hiccup could only assume that the two had a short conversation before the bigger dragon huffed and turned, one of its wings laying flat on the ground. The smaller of the dragons looked excitedly between Hiccup and the other dragon before rushing to the boy, grabbing his arm with his mouth (which thankfully didn't have the teeth extended) and pulled Hiccup up the wing and onto the large dragon's back. While Hiccup was still trying to figure out what was happening, the large dragon unfolded it's other wing and with a small bit of effort launched itself, and its passengers, upwards. After a brief period of terror, the dragon finally leveled off. Still holding on to the spike he'd grabbed by instinct, Hiccup saw that there were other large dragons with smaller ones riding on their backs. He noted that some of the smaller dragons would fly just above their escort, who slowed down enough to provide a landing zone for when the others were tired.

Even though he'd been taught that dragons were evil, Hiccup couldn't contain himself as his ever curious eyes began looking around him, simply taking in the beauty of the sky and the ocean below at this height.

* * *

2 years later

In the time since he'd been with the dragons, things had changed considerably for the boy. The first change was that he hardly ever spoke anymore, sure he talked to his reptile companion, but when the all the conversations are one sided they tend to be few and far between. He'd also lost most of his memory after a flying accident. A little over a year ago, when the black dragon, now dubbed Toothless, was large enough to allow the boy to ride his back, he eagerly climbed aboard. However, Toothless wasn't use to the extra weight and ended up twisting 180 degrees in mid-air. As they were close to the ground, the boy hit his head on a large rock during the crash, thankfully the low speed crash didn't cause any other damage to either boy or dragon. While he was content with his current life, the boy would occasionally get flashes of his previous life, such as the stinky blond man with the peg leg. He'd also grown some, not much put enough so that his old clothes no longer fit correctly.

Living among the dragons for a year had taught the boy much. Apparently the larger dragons were caretakers of younger dragons, providing mobile landing spots for longer flights until the younger dragons had grown large enough to fly by themselves. After a year spent with the caretakers, the two had decided to strike out on their own. At first they stuck around the uninhabited islands they knew, but the boy's curiosity was too great. After much convincing, the boy was able to get his friend to agree to fly more south then they'd ever ventured before. Although slightly concerned that the land was becoming more inhabited, the boy and dragon didn't let it bother them. That was until the bolas came out of nowhere.

The rope hooked around one of Toothless' hind legs before traveling upward, pinning the boy and one of the wings to the dragon's back. As the pair were falling out of the sky, the boy acted quickly. Pulling a knife, which he'd swiped from the last village, from his belt, the boy worked furiously to cut the rope in front of him. As the ground came into view, the boy managed to cut through the last fiber of the rope, allowing Toothless to open his wings and slightly cushion the landing. The impact was still jarring, shaking the bones of both friends and launching the boy off the dragon. After dusting himself off, the boy was prepared to climb back onto Toothless and fly away, he was unprepared as a swarm of men, all wearing matching armor over red tunics, charged at the dragon with large shields and spears. Toothless reacted quickly, moving low to the ground and dodging the spears, the dragon remained uninjured. When some of the men tried sneaking behind the dragon, only to be knocked down by the reptile's tail, often trampled by their screaming comrades as they charged forward to confront the beast. When a large group started to gather in front of Toothless, he unleashed his plasma blasts before they could charge, after the small explosion the smell of burning fabric and flesh permeated the air.

The boy watched in amazement as his friend fought. He knew that dragons were powerful, but while living with them for close to two years he only saw their kinder side. None of that was present as the dragon viciously swatted another man aside with his claws, often separating limbs or dissembling the poor men. While powerful, the boy saw that the men were slowly amassing to overwhelm his friend. Seeing his friend in danger, the boy released a war cry as he charged forward with his stolen knife.

Just as he got close to the men, one of them noticed him, this one with a large number of scars on his arms and a few metal circles raised on his breastplate. Although his eyes were obscured, the boy could tell that the man made the connection between the dragon and the boy. Moving faster than the boy expected, the man hit the boy in the face with the pommel of his sword. While the younger opponent was distracted by the pain, the man grabbed one of the boy's arms and roughly forced it behind his back placing his sword to the boy's neck, he then whistled to get Toothless' attention.

Toothless instantly turned at the noise, only to have his eyes grow wide as he saw the situation his friend was in. Although he growled, the dragon didn't make any more moves. Seeing that some semblance of calm had settled in the clearing, the man holding the blade directed two other to place some leather straps around Toothless' muzzle. Although the dragon appeared to want to bite the two, the blade to his friend's neck made him comply. Once the straps were secure, the men then began probing the reptile with large poles, pushing him towards a large wheeled platform. Once in place, the men produced chains to force the dragon flat against the wood. Once the man was satisfied with the other's work, he motioned for someone to bring him some rope before tying the boy's arms behind his back and throwing him on the platform before placing a large tarp over the pair. As soon as the boy and dragon were completely covered, they felt the platform begin to move.

* * *

For how long they traveled, the boy couldn't say. He couldn't see the sun, but he could see some light that did penetrate through the tarp, however the light had been gone for a long time. Finally the platform stopped. The boy could hear a conversation in a language he couldn't understand before the tarp was flipped up. Standing before the boy was the man who had captured him and his friend, along with a fat man with a large wart on his nose and a large purple birthmark above his left eye, this man also wore a white toga. The toga wearing man didn't seem impressed with what he saw as he pointed at the boy before making a series of hang gestures and yelling at the armored man. The armored man stood silent until he signaled someone to remove more of the tarp, revealing Toothless' head. Instantly the toga wearing man's eyes grew wide. Still silent he produced a large bag a cloth, the boy ideally noted it jingled a lot, before handing it off to the other man. Satisfied, the armored man smirked before signaling the rest of those dressed like him to move the platform past a large wall, through a large courtyard, and into a large chamber, a metal gate swinging shut after they left the boy and reptile alone.

The boy did not sleep well last night, but that didn't stop a pair of large men from dragging him out into the courtyard the next day. As if following a routine, the pair cut his bindings before stripping him of any clothing left and shoving him into an open-aired enclosure with a number of pipes sticking out of the walls. The boy stared at the strange fixtures until he was surprised by a sudden spray of water coming from the pipe. The boy was still in shock as the pair suddenly reappeared and began cleaning the child. Once satisfied, they threw a brown tunic on the child before dragging him out into the courtyard where the toga man from last night waited. After a quick look at the boy the man shook his head before motioning for someone else to come forward. This man was truly a giant, standing well over seven feet tall, his black skin also set him apart. Unlike everyone else present, this giant was shirtless, showing off the numerous scars on his torso. The toga wearing man said something to the giant while gesturing to the boy. The giant seemed to understand as he nodded before walking forward, dragging the boy along with him.

The unlikely pair walked a fair distance before coming to a large wooden pillar. The giant surprised the boy by handing him a sword. Although extremely heavy, the boy did his best to keep it from falling to the ground. The giant smirked when he saw the small boy could at least hold a sword. Taking another sword from the stand, the giant struck the pillar with a forward swipe before delivering a backhanded blow, then finishing the short series by stabbing the sword into the pillar. After removing the sword, the man motioned for the boy to do the same, only to frown when the boy lost his balance after the first extremely slow swing. Shaking his head, the man motioned for the boy to do so again.

For what seemed like hours the boy did the same repetitive exercise until the giant seemed satisfied and allowed the child to stop. After grabbing something to eat, the giant then had the boy run the perimeter of the large courtyard, pausing every five laps to complete a set of pushups and sit ups before resuming the run. And so this pattern continued, the man would show the boy some item, such as a large shield or a trident, before having him run around the courtyard. The boy didn't question why he was doing these tasks, while he'd seen some other men being whipped and didn't feel like joining them, the main reason was he just simply couldn't comprehend it. One second he was flying with his best friend, just as they'd always done. The next second the duo were brought down to earth where the boy witnessed his friend fight a bloody, if futile, battle.

As he woke up the next morning, the boy was once more given something to train with before more exercises. The pattern continued day after day, the training only stopped when the sunset and the boy was returned to the "room" he shared with Toothless.

* * *

Two weeks after capture

In the time since his capture, the boy continued his training under the giant. He still had no idea what he was being trained for, but he had learned somethings. By carefully listening to the conversations of the people around him, the boy was able to learn a bit of their language. So far he was able to figure out he was a "slave" in a "school" for "gladiators", whatever those were. Despite his curiosity, the boy couldn't let his mind wonder as he completed another lap of the run. As he was preparing to learn how to use another item, the giant called for him to join a group heading towards a wagon with a large metal cage. Still uncertain, the boy none the less followed the man onto the wagon, only growing concern when the door was closed and locked behind him and the wagon moved past the large walls. Fearing they were separating him from his friend, the boy quickly tried to slip out of one of the gaps in the cage, only to be held back down by his giant teacher.

As the wagon moved through the street, the boy noticed how some people would look at the passing cage while most didn't give it a second thought. Finally after what seemed like forever, the wagon made its way toward a large, structure before stopping at a ramp leading downwards. Here the door was opened and armor wearing men used long poles to push the occupants out and down the ramp. After what seemed like hours of walking, the group was stopped in front of a man on a podium who was furiously writing something. Taking notice of the group, the man held out a bag before one by one each man drew something out of it. When it was the boy's turn, he just followed what the others did, pulling out a circular piece of wood with weird markings on it. After everyone had reached into the bag, the group were then herded along more corridors until they were placed in a room with benches along the walls and a few small window on the far side, the door locked behind them.

After hearing trumpets and a great cheer, the boy walked over to one of the windows to try and see out of it, only to be too short even when he stood on the bench. Chuckling at the child's behavior, the giant reached down and placed the boy on his shoulder to allow him a better view. Now that he could actually see, the boy saw a circular dirt arena surrounded by high walls and a large number of benches, each row slightly higher than the last, that wrapped around the arena. The boy soon saw what the cheering was about as two men stood in the center of the arena, each tied to one of the other's arm while the other one was incased in some sort of spiked glove. While each man tried their best to dodge their opponents attack while delivering hits of their own, eventually one man was hit in the stomach, losing his breath and too distracted to dodge the incoming spikes to his face. After the hit, the man's body just went slack as blood gushed out of his wounds. A few moments later some armor wearing men, which the boy guessed where soldiers, came forward to remove the living man's weapon and cut the bindings before escorting him out of the arena. The losing man's body was dragged out by some sick looking men wearing dirty tunics.

Just as the fight ended, a loud banging echoed throughout the room. As the door opened, the giant removed the child from his shoulders before handing him to another man to hold onto. While he still did not understanding what was going on, the boy still stared out the window, hoping to make sense of what was happening. After a few minutes the giant appeared in the arena, holding a trident and a fishing net. A few seconds later another man appeared, this one armed with an extremely long sword. The two men stood still before turning to a raised area in the seats and saying something. After the crowd cheered some more both men turned toward each other and assumed their positions. The fight didn't last long.

The sword wielder made the first move, going for a wide swing from the lower right. The giant saw this coming and dodged before releasing his net, tangling the arms of his opponent. While the man tried to free himself, the giant used the blunt end of his trident to knock the weapon out of the man's hands. As the opponent tried to dive for the sword, the giant kicked him away from it and to the ground. When the downed man tried to get up, the giant threw his trident into his leg. As the man collapsed, the giant collected his sword before stalking over and roughly grapping his hair and pulling him up, the sword in position behind his neck.

The giant once more looked towards the raised area. The boy couldn't see who was sitting there, but he saw almost all the men in the stands chanting the same word as they pointed their thumbs to their throats. The person in the raised seating must have given some signal as the giant didn't hesitate to push the blade through the loser's throat, to the joy of the cheering crowd. The boy watched all of this horrified, how could people enjoy this sport where the loser was fated to die? He would have continued to ponder the question had the door not been reopened and a soldier grabbed him.

This time the boy was lead to another room, this one filled with all sorts of weapons and armor, its only occupant a few men with leather aprons. Unsure as to what to do, the boy just followed the example of the man next to him and handed over the wooden disc he'd drawn earlier to one of the apron wearers. The man looked at it and nod before walking off, returning moments later with an oversized helmet, a small dagger, and a small circular shield. The boy quickly grabbed the items before being dragged off. Already having an idea where he was going, the boy wasn't surprised when a set of large doors opened to reveal the arena. Gripping his shield and weapon nervously, the child stepped out into the light.

He first saw his opponent, an older man armed with a large, rectangular shield and a sword, much like what the soldiers had. He then saw the raised seating area, its sole occupant being a balding, fat man with a purple toga. After copying what he'd seen the giant do earlier, the boy got ready to fight. It was a shorter battle than the previous one.

The boy tried to end the fight quickly and rushed at his opponent, only to be stopped by a shield slam. As he got the wind knock out of him, the boy's opponent used his shield to knock the dagger out of his hand. From there it was like a cat playing with a mouse. The man didn't bother to use his sword, instead he was content to use his shield to batter and bruise the boy, to the audience's great delight. Finally after what appeared to be forever the man knocked the boy to the ground before leaning down and pulling him up by his hair. The boy's fear only grew as he saw the crowd point their thumbs' to their throats'. He didn't want to die. As his eyes frantically searched for a way out, he caught sight of something shining just in front of him, his dagger!

Acting quickly, the boy reached down and grabbed the blade before using all his strength to drive the blade into the man's ankle. Shocked at the action, the man released his grip on the boy as he released a pained cry and fell backwards. The boy was on him in an instant, driving the dagger into his unprotected chest again and again as blood continue to flow. The crowd grew hushed at this action, unsure whether to cheer for the child or call for his death. Eventually the purple toga wearing man signaled for the soldiers to do something. Quickly a pair of the armored men move forward and grabbed the boy off the corpse, holding him in place as he awaited judgement.

The purple toga wearing man gave a brief speech to those assembled, seeming to rally them once more into a frenzy. By his signal another soldier entered the arena, this one carrying a whip. After ripping the back of the boy's tunic off, the third soldier stepped back before unleashing the whip. The boy cried out as the small bit of hardened leather bit into his back, drawing blood and causing unimaginable pain. This continued for what seemed like an eternity before the soldier was signaled to stop, the pair holding him then dragged him out of the arena and back to the room where his group was. As he was placed on the bench, the boy pasted out, the pain finally too much to bare.

* * *

1 month later

A month after his debut, the boy was once more back in the arena. As he waited to be escorted to the armory, he reflected on what had happened when he was returned to the walled courtyard. The man who had bought him dragged him by the ear to one of the walls were a series of perpendicular lines were carved into the stone. One such pattern didn't have an writing surrounding it, an oddity to the rest. The boy's master, the man with the large birthmark, then took a hammer and chisel and carved a small, straight line down the right side of the pattern before hitting the boy's head with an open hand and commanding a different slave to take the boy back to his room. (A/N: The wall is where the master keeps track of the wins and losses for everyone, it'll be explained more in the following chapter.)

Once back in his room, a few of the maser's other slaves cleaned the boy's back before giving him something to bit down on as they sewed up the wounds. Although painful, and while he was forced to sleep on his stomach, the boy was thankful he was given a few days rest after his whipping before he was sent back to training, even then the giant too it easy due to the boy's still healing back. Still, now that he knew what he was fighting for, the boy trained as hard as he could, hoping to never loss again.

Now as the boy retrieved the long spear the armory had given him, odd since he was stopped from drawing one of the wooden discs, he wondered what had happened to Toothless. Before leaving the school, the boy saw a number of men struggle to get the dragon onto another wagon before covering it with a tarp. That wagon had followed the one the boy was one until they'd arrived at the arena, where it was lead down another ramp. The boy got his answer as he was lead to a small pin holding Toothless. The boy did as he was instructed, climbing onto the dragon before he was un-muzzled and the ceiling above him opened up and the floor below became a ramp. Cautiously, the dragon walked up into the arena.

The boy had just a second to observe the scene before joining in the chaos. Three men were riding on horses, each armed with a large spear, while the top of the stand had a number of large, mechanical crossbows armed and trained on the dragon. Seeing what was happening, the boy whispered, "Let's play along bud, at least for now."

The dragon seemed to understand as it began running around the perimeter of the ring, trying to stay out of the horsemen's path. This continued for a while, the normal blood thirsty crowd content to watch a near mythical creature run around for their amusement. Finally one of the horsemen broke from the pattern and circled his mount around before charging head long at the dragon. The boy could feel the heat as his friend prepared a plasma bolt, but a tapping on the dragon's neck informed Toothless that the child would take care of it. As the horsemen came into position, the boy threw his spear forward, hitting the horse in the center of the chest, killing it instantly. As the now dead horse's momentum continued as it fell, the butt of the spear hit the ground. The horse's weight caused the weapon to continue moving forward, skewering the rider in the lower stomach and exiting in the mid-back. The boy collected the dead man's spear as he rode past, the crowd cheering all the while.

Seeing what had happened to their comrade, the other two horsemen tried to gang up on Toothless and the boy. As they rode forward, Toothless quickly turned around. This time the boy let the dragon do its work as it released two plasma bolts. The stench of flaming horse and man soon filled the arena as the audience grew louder. The boy smiled, not at his victory, but at the opportunity. Quickly patting the dragon's neck, the boy whispered, "Okay, let's get out of here." The dragon eagerly nodded its head.

Yet it was not to be. Just as Toothless unfolded his wings, the dragon released a great cry. The boy looked in shock as two large metal arrow connected by a heavy chain had been launched into both of Toothless' wing membranes from the large crossbows. While the wounds weren't fatal, they were painful. More importantly the only way for the pair to remove them would be to pull forward and rip the membranes even more, which would be extremely painful to the dragon and make him unable to fly. Sighing, the boy rubbed his friend's head, hoping to ease some of the discomfort, as a group of soldiers marched into the arena and re-muzzled Toothless before leading him and the boy out of the arena.

* * *

Once back at the school, Toothless had been dragged back into the room he shared with his friend. The boy was given a large amount of disinfectant, some twin, and a needle, and made to understand he was to fix his friend's wings then return to the courtyard. After accomplishing his task, and repeatedly saying sorry to the dragon, the boy calmly walked toward the group of men, ready for his punishment.

Instead of the glares he was expecting, the boy only saw smiles, the biggest one from his master. The man made a show of carving another line into the wall the boy had been shown before, this time in the blank left area opposite where the previous line was placed. The man then said a few more before motioning two men to hold the boy in place while his tunic was ripped away. Then another man stepped forward, carrying a piece of metal that was glowing white. Before the boy could process what was happening, the metal was pushed into his skin, right above his heart. As he felt the pain, the boy screamed, even more when cold water was thrown on his chest after the metal was removed. As he faded from consciousness, the boy could see the shape of a stylized dragon in a circle on his left pectoral muscle. (A/N: The brand is the Strike Class Dragon symbol). He also heard his master say, " _You've done well, Deathwing._ "

* * *

 **So at 11 pages, this update is a little shorter than my average chapter, but that just seems to be how the story is flowing right now.**

 **So this story is going to go into some major AU territory. My plan is to have Hiccup and Toothless spend some time in the Gladiator system before escape for a certain reason. From there the plan is to adapt the first movie, a bit of the TV/Netflix series, have some original story lines, then work on the second movie. The third movie is supposed to come out in 2018, but at my update speed (due to other stories, college, and life in general) I'll probably only be halfway done and find some way to adapt that film as well.**

 **So with the opening chapter we have some questions, such as…**

 **Will Hiccup ever make it back to Berk? If so what will become of Toothless?**

 **Why do I have Astird listed as one of the characters if I haven't written anything about her?**

 **Will this story prove to be one of my most popular?**

 **The answers to all these questions, and more, will be revealed in due time. But until the next chapter, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	2. A New Face

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with the second chapter of** _ **Deathwing!**_

 **So if you've read any of my other stories than you know this is the last of my polled stories to get updated. Unfortunately, I felt like this would happen. Don't get me wrong, I love writing this story for all of those who enjoyed the first chapter, but the fact of the matter is that the** _ **How to Train Your Dragon**_ **section of the site, while still large, is rather small comparatively. With that in mind, and given I decided to update based on demand, it was only logical that this story would come in last.**

 **But then I got a surprise, the very last day of voting, three stories tied, presenting me with a problem of which to update first. Ultimately I decided to make the choice based on total views and reviews, which given the reason stated before, resulted in** _ **Deathwing**_ **coming in last. But enough with the glimpse of the madness that is my mind, let's get on with the story, after one quick warning, there is a large time skip at the beginning of the chapter but it's the only one in the story, I promise.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the** _ **How to Train Your Dragon**_ **franchise, that means I don't own the books, the movies, the television series, or the Netflix series.**

* * *

After hammering down on glowing hot metal a few times, the teen used a pair of tongs to pick up the moldable molten metal to better examine it. Flipping the rough shape of the blade over, he shook his head while thinking, 'this side's too thick.' Recognizing the metal was becoming too hardened to further mold, the teen put the work in progress back in the kilim to heat up. As he grabbed a cup of water, the 18 year old slave began to once more reflect on the changes to his life. Where before he and Toothless had the freedom of the air, they were both now shackled to the ground in different ways. The teen use to be naïve, thinking one day someone would screw up and he and his dragon would escape by flying high were no arrow would reach them. He kept that dream alive until he finally understood the meaning of the brand on his chest. He and Toothless were owned, they stopped being individuals the moment they were captured, it wasn't a question of _if_ they would die in the arena, only _when_.

The teen was shaken from these thoughts when he heard someone pounding on the side of the makeshift forge. Sticking his head through a tiny window in one of the walls, the dark skinned giant who first trained the teen spoke, " _Deathwing, new meat is here, you want to look?_ "

Understanding what the man meant, but not feeling like speaking, the teen nodded before standing up. The eight years had been kind to the boy. Where before he was lanky and clumsy, now the teen was tall, a little over six feet, and lean, the muscles the result of hours of training and work in his master's forge. He still had the same shaggy hair, trimmed down every week by his master's orders, but his face became less round and more rugged. While a small number of scars crissed crossed the teen's limbs, nothing was as bad as the dragon shaped brand that he kept hidden under his tunic. One other notable difference about the boy is that while he wore a tunic like everyone else, he also wore a pair of pants from the same material as his tunic.

As the teen walked out into the open air, he couldn't help but reflect on how the yard had changed in the ten years since his enslavement. Where the yard had once been a large empty space save for a few practice dummies, whipping posts, the showers, and "The Wall", now various areas had been sectioned off to serve their own purpose. Aside from the makeshift forge, almost the entire southeastern corner had become occupied by the various practice blades the teen had forged, something he discovered he had a natural talent in. Half of what use to be free space and been divided up into equal circles where the "students" of the school practiced grappling with one another, the other half become a makeshift living area where the "students" at long tables during meals and slept in small huts, well except for the teen and the giant. Due to the two gladiators' success, their master soon gained a small fortune, which he used to pay more fighters and expand the yard's width by 200 yards. In the course of construction the now 10 foot deep outer wall, the man was sure to include two gated out coves, used to board his biggest money winners. While Deathwing shared his with Toothless, the giant had his to himself.

While many things changed, much of it had also stayed the same. The whipping posts where still stationed in front of "The Wall" so that those punished could reflect on their failures and be inspired by others' victories to be better. The long double row of communal showers were still only a stone's throw away from the gated entrance to the yard, the pipes being incredibly expensive to renovate. Right now the teen was focused on the large, rusted gate that some of the master's guards were starting to open, another group pushing a large mass of people into the yard.

Deathwing saw that like always a small group of men walked in ahead of everyone else, absent of any restraint. The teen couldn't help but shake his head and wonder why anyone would willingly choose this life. Next came the minority of the group, a few men wearing metal collars that hung loosely around their necks, slaves or gladiators from poorer areas that made a name for themselves that Deathwing's master though showed promise and saw as a good investment. As always, the last group was a mixture of men and woman, some looked strong while others looked rather weak, all restrained by a length of chain connecting them to their neighbor. It was for this group that Deathwing felt the most pity, the war captives. While some of the men may have been soldiers, the majority had just been regular people going about their day until the Roman army marched into their home and drug them away.

Standing next to the teen, the giant grunted before saying, " _Same as always, men out within five months, woman less._ "

Deathwing was about to agree when something caught his eye. It was just for a second, but the teen swore that he saw a flash of blond hair and blue eyes before they disappeared within the sea of bodies. Already knowing where the group would be hearded to next, the teen shook his head before saying, " _Maybe, but there might still be a surprise._ " Deathwing didn't wait for the giant to respond before he started walking away. He needed to find a guard, it was time for Toothless' daily flight.

* * *

Deathwing's master wasn't a stupid man. He knew that the crowd only cared about the teen because of the beast that he rode. As a business man, Deahtwing and Toothless were only an investment, but to make the most of it required the dragon to stay healthy, meaning he needed to stretch his wings daily, which posed the problem of how to keep one of his most profitable fighters from running away. The solution to this was to keep Toothless confined to the pair's room while only allowing the dragon to fly if his rider was chained up. To that end each day a little after midday Deathwing would allow one of his arms to be shackled to the whipping post so that his friend could have a temporary escape into the skies above. While a necessary evil, there was one advantage to the young man, the whipping posts allowed a completely unobstructed view into the showers.

After being shackled and waiting for the next set of people to be pushed into the showers, the teen watched as his friend was released from his confines. The teen nearly chuckled as a group of five guards gathered in a circle to draw lots before the loser shakily walked to one of the out coves in the back wall. After opening the gate, the man quickly ran back to his friends as Toothless emerged. Although still forced to wear a muzzle outside of the arena or when he wasn't eating, the dragon still cut an imposing figure. As much as Deathwing had grown, Toothless had grown more, easily being larger than a horse. While Deathwing's body had a few scars, the jet black dragon scales were almost perfect as no blade was hard enough to pierce them, save for one. A single large scar where the dragon's right shoulder meet his neck, a result of a fight with a large war captive with an equally large sword made from a metal Deathwing had never seen. After that victory, the teen was quick to claim the sword and melt the blade down before using the metal to fashion a helmet for his friend, after all a dead man had no use for a blade.

Deathwing stopped those thoughts of the past when Toothless looked directly in his eyes, a questioning look present. Knowing what was asked, slowly Deathwing shook his head no. The dragon huffed but resigned to his friend's answer unfolded his wings and took off just as the next group of prisoners walked into the showers.

Instantly Deathwing saw her. As he'd seen at the entrance, the girl had blue eyes and long blond hair that she kept in a braid, and wore a blue tunic and a skirt, any footwear she might have worn had long since been taken away. He also noted that she was fairly shorter than him, maybe around 5'9", and looked to be around his age. He also noted subtle details, how the girl walked in measured steps, how her head kept moving and assessing the situation around her. The blond had obviously had some sort of training, but from where? As all of this information filtered into his brain, Deathwing wondered aloud, " _Now, will she be trained or broken?_ "

As Deathwng continued his musing, a pair of guard unshackled the girl and placed her before a waterspout. While the two men tried to make the girl understand she was to undress, she either didn't understand or choose not to comply. Growing tired, one of the guards reached out and tried to forcibly strip the blond, only for the girl to react quickly, grabbing the man's arm before quickly wheeling around and slamming the man into the wall, then pulling the arm behind the man's back and pushed up until a sickening crack was heard, the arm broken.

As the first guard collapsed, the second rushed into action and tried to tackle the blond, only for the girl to once more display her combat skill. Quickly turning on her heel, the girl dealt with this guard faster than the last, balling her right hand into a fist before launching it forward into the guard's face. A crack was heard as the man fell back screaming in agony, blood flowing from his nose.

While impressed by the two victories, Deathwing couldn't help but wonder what trouble the other teen would soon be in. More guards heard the commotion and were starting to march over to the showers to see what was happening. 'Even with her skills, it'll only be a matter of time until she gets overwhelmed.' Deahtwing thought darkly, until one of the elderly woman who helped with the cooking walked out of the kitchen, upon seeing this the guards quickly went back to their posts, not wanting rotten rations as punishment. After a quick look, the woman seemed to understand what happened and quickly strolled forward, grabbing the blond's writs as she walked past and dragging the girl further down the row of water spouts to a more remote section, one closer to where Deathwing was chained up. Once more the blond was made to understand she needed to strip then was left to her own devices. Now away from prying eyes she didn't seem to have a problem following the orders.

Once satisfied that she was alone, the blond stripped and began to washed away the dirt and grim that had collected on her skin, closing her eyes as she scrubbed away. While she was unaware of his presence, Deathwing gave the blond a quick once over. While he may have paused for the slightest moment on the other teen's breasts, the gladiator knew he wasn't meant to enjoy them or the other pleasure the woman in front of him could provide. Instead, Deathwing focused on trying to find something that would give him a clue as to her fate. He could see a few small, faint scars on her arms, but those seemed to be from her childhood and told him nothing of his master's plans.

Just as the gladiator was pondering this, Toothless decided he'd been away from his friend long enough and screeched as he came in for a landing, his shadow passing over the showers before landing in the yard and being lead back to the out cove. Deathwing raised an eyebrow when he saw how the blond reacted to Toothless' actions, while most people would turn their heads upward and try to find the elusive dragon, the teen crouched down, trying to find the source of the noise while her eyes quickly searched the sky. This simple act spoke volumes to Deathwing, it told him that were ever this girl was from she was use to dragons. Maybe she would have some idea who he was, if he had a family. The gladiator might never see them again, but it'd be nice to know if there was someone who missed him.

While these thoughts went through his head, the teen's arm started going stiff and to alleviate the discomfort Deathwing stretched it out, rattling the chain as he did so. This simple action made the blond aware of the gladiator's presence as she quickly turned her head, a surprised look on her face. Surprise soon turned to anger as the blond glared at Deathwing while bring her hands up to cover her bare chest, then completely turning her back to the young man. Although this gave Deathwing a great view of her ass, he was more interested in her back, or rather what wasn't there.

'No whip marks,' the teen noted, this final observation sealing the blond's fate in his mind, 'shame, you would have made a good fighter.' Deathwing then remembered how quickly and brutally she'd taken out the two guards, 'But then again, at least I won't have to train her.'

* * *

After the excitement of the new group's arrival, the day quickly went back to its routine. Deathwing went back to the forge to work on a few new weapons before coming out and eating with the rest of his master's slaves, easily spotting the blond from earlier, a glare still present on her face, although now she'd been given a simple red tunic and some sandals. Despite the animosity the young woman showed him, Deathwing just shrugged his shoulders before returning to his meal, she wasn't his problem and if he was right she wouldn't be staying long. After the filling dinner the teen went back to his out cove and wondered which blade he'd need to work on tomorrow before falling asleep at Toothless' side.

It was late at night when Deathwing was awoken by someone hitting his out cove's gate. Quickly awakening, and untangling himself from the still sleeping Toothless, the teen saw one of the guard's holding the blond by her arm as she tried to escape his grip. As the man unlocked the gate, he explained the situation, " _This one got in a fight with some of her bunkmates, possibly broke one of their legs. Normally me and the boys would handle this ourselves, but I'm sure you've noticed how this one looks._ " By now the gate was unlocked and the man quickly threw the other teen inside and to the floor, closing the metal again before she had a chance to get back up. Continuing, the man said, " _The boss seems to think you know how to handle this best. 'Train her or break her, it's Deathwing's choice,' those were his words, so do what you want to._ " With that the man turned on his heel and walked away.

After the short ordeal, the girl was able to regain her footing and charged at the gate, perhaps hoping it'd come loose and collapse. When the metal held fast, the young woman slammed her fist against one of the metal rods before turning to Deathwing, slightly hunched over and ready to react if he charged her.

Deathwing rolled his eyes at this. Remembering that they may have shared a home, the teen spoke his native language for the first time in a long time, "Will you relax, I'm not going to do anything to you."

The girl's expression went from guarded to shocked as she straightened up and asked, "You speak Norse?"

The young man nodded before saying, "I've known it for as long as I can remember," the teen then stretched before leaning back onto the still sleeping Toothless, "look it's going to be a long day tomorrow, and I'll explain things then, but for now you should get some sleep and you'll be a lot warmer over here than by the gate."

The girl seemed hesitant to follow the boy's suggestion, but eventually she slowly walked forward as she said, "If you try anything, I swear to Odin…"

"You don't need to finish that," Deathwing interrupted the girl, "I already know it'd end badly for me."

The girl paused before nodding, seemingly accepting what the young man said, although she still laid as far away as possible, unknowingly on Toothless' tail. After a few moments of silence the girl spoke up again, "My name is Astrid by the way."

The other teen nodded at this before saying, "Nice to meet you Astrid, now get to sleep if you want to survive tomorrow." The girl seemed to take his advice since she didn't speak up again. As he fell back asleep, Deathwing couldn't help but wonder what trouble Astrid was to bring.

* * *

After a relatively peaceful night, both Deathwing and Toothless, as well as most of the school, were awakened by a scream. After stretching and rubbing his eyes, Deathwing saw his new bunkmate backed up against the gate as she pointed to Toothless. "What the Hel is that thing doing here?"

Not really seeing the problem, the boy said, "It's just Toothless, he's my friend and he's not going to harm you, well not unless you give him a reason."

Astrid didn't seem to agree with the statement as she said, "That's a dragon, they've pushed my tribe to near starvation," now that she knew she wasn't in immediate danger, the blond could see what species she's unknowingly slept on, the information making her blood run cold. "That's a Nightfury isn't it, and you claim it's your friend?" When Deathwing nodded, Astrid began pacing in front of the gate while pulling her hair, "Great, the one person who speaks Norse in this Thor-forsaken land, and he's a dragon lover!"

As the blond continued her rant, Deathwing just shook his head and wondered if dragons were really that bad, after all he'd be dead if it wasn't for is friend. Finally after what seemed like hours, one of the guards came and unlocked the gate and motioned for the human occupants to come out before another guard dragged in a barrel of fish for the resident beast to eat.

After quickly grabbing his breakfast, with Astrid still following him, Deathwing took his place beside the giant before digging into his bacon, cheese, and roll of bread, Astrid looking enviously before motioning to her plate with a single slice of cheese and roll of bread and asking, "Why do you get so much more than me?"

Although he couldn't understand what she said, the giant seemed to understand the question and chuckled before pointing to "the Wall". Seeing the girl's confusion, Deathwing took pity and said, "It's because our master hasn't decided if you are a good investment or not." Pointing to "the Wall" himself, the young man said, "That's the running tally for every gladiator in here, the more wins the more valuable they are and the more money our master makes."

"And how does he do that?" Astrid asked.

"He gets a cut of any wagers we win on his behalf, and then there's patronage," upon seeing the girl raise her eyebrow, Deathwing waved one of his hands before saying, "we'll get into that later but basically people help fund the school for rewards. The point is that most of the slaves here are going to be resold within the next few months, and if you get enough wins the price for you will go up."

Having her answer, the young woman took a bite of her roll before asking, "Isn't it a little morbid to think you can be bought and sold on one man's whim?"

Deathwing gave a short chuckle before saying, "It is, and if you're trying to get us to help you escape, it isn't going to happen. The giant and I are the top winning gladiators our master has right now, and the main source of his patronage, there's not a price big enough to make him part way with us. Besides, it's better than the alternative." When the girl once more raised her eyebrow, Deathwing pointed behind her were a small group of woman were seated under a tent. All wore semi-fine togas and enjoyed eating a large supply of bread, cheese, grapes, and other such foods despite having loose metal collars hanging off their necks. One other common trait was that they were exceptionally beautiful.

Deathwing suddenly spoke up, saying, "That group may seem like they have it good now, but they'll be paying for it later. Given as gifts to men half their age to be played with, I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"It's not just fighters that are being sold," Astrid began as everything was sinking in, "it's sex slaves too."

"Yep," Deathwing confirmed nonchalantly, "and unless you prove you're a good fighter you'll end up one as well." Seeing the young woman about to ask a question, the teen quickly interrupted by asking, "Take a look around us, how many blonds do you see?" Astrid gave a quick glance around the seated slaves, seeing a handful of blond heads. "Now," the gladiator continued, "how many of those people are women?" Astrid felt her heart leap when the only other blond woman aside from herself was laughing underneath the tent. "You're a rarity, which makes those who can afford you eager to buy, display, and enjoy. The only way for you not to end up like that is to prove that you're more valuable as a fighter."

"Then I better kick some ass in the fights." Astrid quickly declared, her voice full of confidence.

"Good," Deathwing said as he stood up, by now both their plates were empty, "we'll start in just a few minutes."

* * *

After their food had settled, Deathwing lead Astrid over to the practice ring before telling her to wait while he fetched some practice weapons. A few minutes later the boy returned with a cart full of various blades. Seeing the look in her eyes, the gladiator quickly said, "You need to know how to fight with a weapon before you know how to defeat someone using the weapon." Deathwing didn't wait for a reply before picking up a large dagger and showing the girl a few quick combinations with the blade, and then handing it over.

While the girl may have received at least some training, she was obviously not used to using such a short weapon. "No, no, no." Deathwing said for the fourth time in twenty minutes. "You're grip is too close to the cross guard, you're center of gravity is too high, and you're over extending yourself on your thrusts! Start again."

The blond didn't seem to take this critique well, throwing the blade down at Deathwings feet with a yell, which unintentionally garnered everyone's attention. "This is pointless," the girl began, "so what if I don't know how to fight with a dagger? It's not my weapon of choice anyway."

Being in the school the second longest, Deathwing had seen this kind of behavior before, and he knew how to break it. "You know I went through the same training as you, the only difference was that I as ten years younger. I didn't do it to gain some advantage of someone, I did it because I didn't know what weapon I'd be fighting with, if I wasn't good enough with a certain blade on a certain day I could have died. Learning now may seem trivial, but knowing how far you can reach my just save your life in the ring." Despite the talking down, Astrid still had a look of defiance. Sighing as he pushed his hair back, Deathwing said, "I'll make you a deal, you choose the weapon and fight me. You win and we forget this whole thing, I win and you listen to me. Deal?"

"Deal." Astrid instantly agreed as she strode to the cart, glance around a few moments until her eyes light up as she pulled out her choice. Deathwing could honestly say he was surprised when the young woman selected a double bladed battle-axe. After nodding to show that she was ready, Deathwing lead her to one of the empty sparing rings, everyone still watching the pair like a hawk.

As the two circled each other, Deathwing figured he needed to test the girl. Although her choice of weapon was surprising, the fact that she instantly gravitated towards it suggested great skill. As the gladiator was coming up with a plan, Astrid noticed something and asked, "Aren't you going to grab a weapon?"

Deathwing just smirked before saying, "I'm just proving a point right now, if this was a real fight I'd grab one, but not now." This show of confidence seemed to anger Astrid, so the experienced ring fighter decided to push her a bit more.

Knowing he'd need the full range of motion his upper limbs could provide for his plan to work, Deathwing took off his tunic and threw it aside. Astrid scoffed at this, but her gaze was drawn to the dragon shaped brand over her opponent's heart. Getting back into the fight, the teen called out, "I hope you aren't expecting me to undress as well."

"That's okay," Deathwing responded, "I already saw enough yesterday." Although none of the crowd could understand what the teen said, they could get the general feel of the statement and started laughing. Maybe it was what Deathwing had said or it was everyone laughing at her, but Astrid seemed to snap, charging at her opponent while yelling a war cry.

Unlike most of the bigger gladiators, Deathwing didn't hold his ground. Instead he stayed in constant motion, either side stepping or jumping back from Astrid's blade in the nick of time. As they fought, the gladiator began to take mental notes of his opponent's fighting style, 'She's not chocked up near the blades but isn't resting her hands on the end of the handle incase she needs to slide the axe forward for some extra length. Overhead blows are quick and she uses the momentum to spin and try for a side swipe. She's definitely been taught well, but is too overspecialized to survive in the ring.' His notes finished, Deathwing moved to end the fight.

As Astrid charged once more for an overhead blow, Deathwing dropped down and swept the girl's legs out from under her. As Astrid fell forward, the gladiator quickly rose, disarming the young woman of her axe in the process. Astrid landed with an audible thud and attempted to get back up, only to find a knee in between her shoulder blades keeping her down. As if the situation couldn't get any worse, she soon found the wooden handle of the axe pressed against her throat. As she tried to push the handle away and get some air, she heard Deathwing whisper in her ear, "You're talented at this, but one weapon isn't going to keep you alive. The Roman's like to play games, and you better learn them if you want to stay alive." With his piece said, Deathwing released his grip on the axe, the wood clattering on the dirt as Astrid clutched her throat and took deep breaths. Before she had a chance to get up, a dagger suddenly appeared in front of her face, the blade lodged half an inch into the ground.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Deathwing asked as the crowd dispersed, the show over, "We've still got work to do."

Slowly Astrid nodded before gripping the weapon, pulling it out of the dirt as she stood up.

* * *

It had been a few hours since Astrid's beat down. Since then she'd done nothing but run through the motions of how to use the dagger. Although her stance was still a bit shaky, she wasn't making as many mistakes as before. As he walked around the other teen, Deathwing suddenly spoke up, "So tell me about yourself."

Astrid's replied through gritted teeth, "Do you mind, I'm trying to concentrate."

Deathwing chuckled before saying, "If you can't concentrate with just me talking to you, you'll never make it in the ring when thousands are roaring at you to kill or be killed."

Astrid huffed, but while she kept moving she said, "I'm from the island of Berk, near the northern edge of the Barbaric Archipelago."

"So what was it like there?" Deathwing asked, curious about his possible homeland.

Astrid shrugged before going back to practicing with her blade, "Alright I suppose, it's cold most of the year but it's home, the only problem was the dragon raids." Deathwing could feel the blond's glare, probably still hating he was a "demon lover." After the brief paused the girl continued, "The pests were an annoyance, but I was never left wanting anything."

"What, you're village royalty or something?"

Astird shook her head as she said, "Not really, but I might as well have been." Although her arms burned from the continuous movement, Astrid didn't pause as she elaborated, "Our chief, I guess what you would call an emperor, lost his son at a young age. My Dad died fighting a "rouge" Berserker before I was born and my Mom died in childbirth. I was raised by my Uncle Finn Hofferson for a few years until he died fighting the Frightmare. It was around that time Chief Stoick lost his son, so having an empty house he took me in as his own."

Deathwing nodded, absorbing the information. "Alright, take a break." Deathwing had to hide his smile when he saw the girl's legs give out as she landed on her butt, panting heavily. As the gladiator handed his student a cup of water, he asked, "So if you're from the North, how'd you get captured?"

After taking a few gulps, Astrid asked, "I mentioned the dragons, right?" After Deathwing nodded, the girl continued, "The raids had been growing worse in the recent years so Chief Stoick decided to send some people to try and find allies. I volunteered to go South to the main land, the ship I was on got attacked on route."

"So why did you volunteer?" Deathwing asked genuinely curious.

"I could tell you it was because I wanted to help my people, and while that maybe part of it, I mostly went to get some freedom." Seeing that Deathwing was for once the confused one, Astrid continued by saying, "The Chief has a nephew, Snoutlout Jorgenson, the single most self-centered Viking you'll ever find. From the time I was little, the village expected that I'd marry him, officially be part of the Chief's family, as soon as we were of age. That's only a couple of months away, so I was trying to find a way to either get out of it or at least delay the inevitable."

"That's sounds kind of unfair," Deathwing admitted before holding out his hand to pull Astrid to her feet. "Well congratulations, you found a way where you don't have to marry anyone."

As the pair were getting ready to get back to practicing, Astrid spoke up, "Hey, I answered some of your questions, do you mind answering some of mine?" After her teacher shrugged her shoulders, Astrid pointed to the Wall and asked, "What is that all about?"

"That's were our master keeps track of our wins and losses."

"I already know that," Astrid said, "but why? The stories of gladiators we get from Trader Johann always say you die if you loss."

Deathwing shook his head before saying, "Only if you loss during the birthday or the death of some important senator. I've actually lost three times. The first time was my first match, it's not something I like to talk about." The teen then pointed to a small scar on his left upper arm, "I got this when I got grazed by an arrow during a reenactment, from what I could gather our master bribed someone to insure I stayed alive."

"What makes you so special that he's willing to do that?" Astrid interrupted the tail.

In response the young man pointed over to the out cove where Toothless was napping, "Because I'm the only gladiator, no the only person, who can ride a dragon, it's how I got my name, Deathwing."

"And just what is your real name?"

"I don't know," the gladiator confessed, "a few years before we got captured I was flying with Toothless and knocked my head on a rock, I can't really remember anything from my life before."

"Nothing at all?" Astrid questioned, not being able to imagine not remembering her friends on Berk.

"I got flashes occasionally, nothing really sticks except for this large, smelly blond man with a peg leg. There's also this other man, but I never remember anything about him."

Hearing this actually shocked Astrid since she knew someone almost fitting that description, "The blond man, was there anything else about him? Was he missing a hand?"

Shaking his head, Deathwing said, "No, he had two hands. Come on, that's enough stalling and we still have work to do."

"Fine," Astrid agreed with a huff, "just one more question, aside from increased resale value, why keep track of your wins?"

"Believe it or not, we actually get rewards, incentives to put on better shows." Seeing the look of disbelief the blond had, Deathwing elaborated by saying, "Romans are obsessed with the number 10, this carries over into the gladiator rewards. After your first 10 wins you get better food, 20 wins is usually when you get to select your own weapon, 30 will give you better cloths, 40 a bigger bunk house with less bunkmates, with 50 you're given a slave of their own."

Confused, Astrid asked, "Why would a slave get a slave?"

"It's supposed to be so there's more time for you to practice," Deathwing explained, "but a lot of men use it to have some semblance of a wife. I don't blame them, we're the lowest of the low in the social order, and even if by some miracle we are freed no one wants their daughter married to one of us."

"So we can get freed." Astrid stated, her voice full of hope.

"Yep, the ultimate prize for 100 wins, ten 10s, but no one ever makes it." Deathwing declared. When he saw Astrid about to ask another question, he began, "We don't get to choose who we get paired with, the master usually just selects some throwaway slave that they won't get a return on their investment from. As for why the woman would agree, there are certain benefits to the arrangement. Both have their fates tied together so if one is freed so is the other. There's also the fact that no one but their "owner" is allowed to fuck a "trophy slave."

"I could certainly see the advantage to that," Astrid agreed, remembering how many of the guards were waiting her to undress. While she did have a few more questions, she figured those could wait until later, she still had a long way to go.

* * *

A few days after Astrid began her training, she got ready to go to the practice rings like usual, but stopped when Deathwing placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed to the entrance, where a large gate with wheels was being backed into the training yard. Despite her training, both past and present, Astrid still felt nervous. Seeing this, her teacher called out to the giant, " _Hey, anything important happen today?_ "

" _No my friend,_ " the man replied before adding, " _the Romans just want their weekly bloodshed._ "

After hearing this, the teen turned to his student and said, "Relax, since our master is bring so many gladiators to the arena the odds are low that you'll be selected to fight, even then as long as you put on a good show and aren't in a beast fight you have a low chance of dying." Astrid accepted this and after a brief pause followed the crowd into the cage.

As the group was wheeled through the city, Astrid asked, "Is it always going to be like this, will the nervousness ever go away?"

"I use to be like that," Deathwing confessed, "worrying whether I'd die or not, if I could make it to the 100 wins or not."

"So what changed?" Astrid questioned.

"Nothing really," Deathwing stated, "I just learned the truth, no one will get the hundred wins. Once I accepted that it became much easier to just live in the moment."

Although Astrid wanted to disagree about making it to 100 wins, but thought better of it. The rest of the ride to the arena was quite, until Astrid looked up and saw something familiar walk in front of the cage. Before anyone could stop her, the young woman had reached through the bars and was currently strangling the life out of a passerby. Needless to say, this created a lot of commotion, with the gladiators around Astrid trying to pry her hands off the man's throat before some soldiers came to "persuade" the blond to let go. Finally Deathwing managed to get the girl to release her grip before throwing her to the floor of the cage, "What the Hel was that? Do you want to get us all killed!" he demanded.

"That man has my Uncle's axe, it's the only thing I have of his!" Astrid quickly defended her actions. By now their master had walked back to the cage and was apologizing profusely to the other man before asking Deathwing what had happened, who explained that Astrid believed the man to be carrying her family's axe. As the men continued to talk, with the passerby occasionally looking at Astrid, said teen asked, "What are they talking about?"

"Well the man you strangled says it's possible the axe is your family's," Deathwing began, "he says it was a gift from his nephew after his company captured a ship out at sea. And now he's asking our master to place a wager, the axe for you, or whatever it cost to buy you."

"Tell him to take the bet." Astrid demanded.

"I don't think…" Deathwing began before being silenced by the blond's glare. Sighing, the teen called out to his master and relied that Astrid was for the bet, causing both him and the other man to laugh before shaking hands and walking off. "Well I hope you're happy," Deathwing told his student, "you've just bought yourself a challenge from a beast master, and after humiliating him like that I don't he'll go easy on you."

"Don't care." was Astrid's curt response, "He has my family's axe and I am going to get it back."

Once more Deathwing sighed, wondering whether the trouble this blond brought was worth training her.

* * *

Unlike the first time Deathwing came to the arena, the group was not made to draw lots for their weapons, Deathwing's ability in weapon craft eliminated the need for his master to rent out the weapons. Now a few arena officials trailed the group, carrying a crate full of the fighter's armor while another crate waited near the gates to the ring, guarded by soldiers.

Once in their holding room, the gladiators set about preparing themselves, the roar of the crowd could easily be heard. After the crate with the armor had been set down, many of the men began stripping themselves of their cloths to put on their armor, Deathwing included who removed his tunic and pants. Astrid had turned to ask the gladiator a question while he did this, but quick turned around when she saw a glimpse of the other teens "dragon". "Have you no shame!" She demanded while blushing.

Deathwing chuckled while he pulled on a canvas loin cloth, preferring to be less constricted and mobile when fighting on the ground, before he answered, "Why no I don't, it's one of the first things you lose as a gladiator." The teen then smirked with a devilish quality before he asked, "Did you like what you saw?" Deathwing laughed loudly when Astrid's response was just to babble nonsense, however he grew serious when he heard a number of horns. Grabbing Astrid's arm, he dragged the other teen to the small window before saying, "You should watch this, you need to know what you've gotten yourself into."

Although confused, and still slightly flustered, the blond still followed directions and looked out, to see a group of twenty or so men standing in the center of the ring. When she looked away to question what was happening, Deathwing said, "Thieves, murders, rapists, or some other kind of criminal. It's time for their punishment." Astrid would have asked more, only for a loud roar to capture her attention. Back in the arena, a group of what looked like oversized tan cats where circling the group. Deathwing hadn't even looked up when he said, "Lions, the most common beast in the ring. Romans capture them in the southern colony so they don't have to travel as far, although these may have been bred. Now let's see if the convicts are smart enough, or lucky enough, to live past today."

Throughout the conversation, Astrid hadn't stopped looking out the window. So far nothing was happening, the men just stood in a circle too afraid to move as the lions paced around them. Just when it seemed nothing would happen, one of the men on the edge of the group was shoved to the ground. This sudden movement captured the big cats' attention and the man quickly got to his feet and tried to run away, but was soon pounced upon and eaten alive as he screamed, the crowd cheering all the while.

This seemed to be the catalyst for the carnage that was to follow. Now knowing where to get food, the big cats eagerly leaped into the group, injuring many with their fangs and claws. Now not safe in numbers, the men started running around the arena, each trying to avoid death. However this proved to be fruitless, as each man fell amid the sounds of flesh ripping and bones crushing. In less than five minutes the dirt was stained red with the men's blood and the lions were carefully lead towards an open gate and back to their cages.

After witnessing the event, Astrid slowly backed away from the window. She was a Viking, she'd fought both dragons and exiles to keep her home safe. She was use to seeing bloody scenes, but those men didn't stand a chance. She couldn't stop herself as she said, "This is horrible."

"This is the games," Deathwing countered, "now do you see why no one has made it to 100?"

Hesitantly, Astrid nodded before asking, "How many wins do you have?"

"46," Deathwing quickly replied before pointing to the giant, "he's got the most with 97."

Before Astrid could respond, the crowd roared as the announcer said something. Although muffled, Deathwing was able to make out the word "Amazon" and chuckled when the giant rushed over to a window, pulling Astrid out of his path. Seeing his student's confusion, Deathwing directed her to look out another window. Although hesitant to do so, she still did and saw the ring populated by maybe 15 giant birds with black plumage and long naked necks. However what captured her attention was the tall, dark skinned woman standing in the center of the arena with a long spear in her hands, wearing absolutely nothing.

Sneaking up behind Astrid, Deathwing chuckled before saying, "And now you know why it's mostly men in the audience."

Suddenly very self-conscious, Astrid asked, "Am I going to have to go out like that?"

The girl released a sigh of relief when Deathwing shook his head no before explaining, "She's from a smaller, poorer school. This is her master's attempt to advertise how skilled his warriors are, and to try and advertise what his patrons can expect."

"I get the patron part," Astrid said, having put two and two together, "but his gladiators' skill?"

"See the man near the front of the stands, the one holding up the hour glass?" Deathwing asked. When Astrid nodded, he continued, "There's enough and in the glass for five minutes, she has that long to kill all the ostriches or else she'll be killed." Seeing the look of horror cross his student's face, Deathwing said, "Don't worry though, it's rigged in her favor, the bottom half of the glass has a slightly bigger diameter, so that five minutes in a standard glass is more like 8 in that one." Having finished his explanation, Deathwing began to drag Astrid back towards the armor crate so that he could finish getting ready and find Astrid some left over gear.

Along the way, he couldn't help but tease the giant. Switching to Latin, the one language both had some grasp at, Deathwing told the other gladiator, " _It'll never happen, she's from a rival school._ "

The giant didn't turn to face Deathwing, instead waving him off as he said, " _A man can dream_."

Holding in his laughter, Deathwing said, " _If you ever did get her in the sack, she'd cut off yours._ "

Now the giant turned towards the younger gladiator and glared slightly before poking his chest and said, " _Don't ruin a man's dreams_." Despite the man's tone, Deathwing still laughed knowing everything was in good fun.

* * *

Once at the armor crate, Deathwing wasted no time in laying claim to pieces of his custom armor. A pair of iron greaves protected his shins before he secured a large pauldron to his right shoulder by using the long leathered straps, placing them diagonally across his chest before tying them, his brand on full display. He then pulled a leather sleeve up his left arm before sliding on the three metal plates that completely covered his arm. The last piece was a form fitting helm, the smooth surface covered everything from the bridge of his nose down while the top was a cluster of small, neatly arranged spikes, leaving the only part of Deathwing's head unprotected was his green eyes. Astrid had to admit that he struck an imposing and powerful figure.

Finding her voice, Astrid asked, "So what about me? I'm sure there isn't much but I'm not going out there nude."

Deathwing nodded his head, agreeing with her before saying, "You're probably going to be facing a big cat, speed is going to be important. You should be fine in just your tunic, but you should probably have some protection." Reaching towards the bottom of the crate, the teen dug around awhile until he thought he found something useful. What the gladiator had found was a simple bronze helmet with an emotionless bronze facemask attached, small leather straps were meant to circle the head and tie behind to keep the armor from slipping. Handing the helmet to Astrid, Deathwing commanded, "Try this on."

Hearing the note of authority in the gladiator's voice, something she only thought possible from Chief Stoick, Astrid complied. Surprisingly, the helmet fit while the facemask completely covered the blond's face. "Are you able to see?" Deathwing questioned. When Astrid nodded, Deathwing mussed to himself, "Should be enough for a beast fight, but I'll probably have to forge more later."

Any future discussion was halted when someone knocked on the room's door. Shortly after that, a soldier opened the door and pointed at Deathwing before commanding the gladiator to follow him. Once she was left alone, Astrid removed her helmet before going back to the window to see the Amazon kill the last of the giant birds, just before the last few grains of the sand ran out. As she watched the cheering for the victorious woman and the carcasses being cleared, the blond hoped that her teacher would make it out okay, despite being a dragon lover.

* * *

Deathwing had been lead to the ring so many times he could have walked to the gates from memory. When arriving at the gate, the gladiator was told to retrieve his weapon. Deathwing couldn't help but smile as he grabbed his masterpiece. At first it looked like the blade was an average Spatha, a Roman double edged long sword made of iron, however Deathwing's blade had a long slit in the center of the blade from the pommel to a couple of inches behind the blade's point. Although it severely weakened the blade's strength, meaning it couldn't take many heavy blows, it did lighten the weapon's weight considerable which fit into the dragon rider's fighting style. After examining his blade to make sure it hadn't been tampered with, Deathwing nodded to the arena official before the gates were opened and he was lead into the ring.

If there was one positive thing about being a gladiator, it would be the crowd cheering for you as soon as you walked into the ring. While there were cases of mistaken identity since many fighters shared similar equipment and styles, no one had Deathwing's large brand or his sword. The fact that all the cheering was for him did boost Deathwing's ego a bit, but he was sure not to let it affect his fight, although he knew it paid to be a crowd favorite, especially after his last loss.

Just as the crowd was calming down, the gate on the other side of the ring opened. Deathwing didn't think anyone could serve as an embodiment of the opposite of his fighting style, and yet here was this man. While Deathwing wore as little armor as possible to keep his movements fluid, this man was covered head to toe in plate armor. Finally, while Deathwing had one of the longer swords, this man didn't carry any blade, instead the teen noted the man's gauntlets had spikes on each knuckle.

As both fighters approached the center of the ring, they stopped maybe three feet from each other before turning on their heal and placing their right hand over their heart and declared to the head official, " _We have come to fight and die for your glory_." This of course served to make the crowd cheer even more, thus when the man on the raised platform nodded, both combatants turned toward each other and began to circle, the man keeping his arms forward while Deathwing held his grip in a reverse grip with the blade running alongside his arm.

Then the metal man leapt forward. Despite the armor's weight, Deathwing's opponent was still able to move fast, launching attacks the teen could barley avoid. As the deadly dance continued, Deathwing started to take mental notes on his opponent, 'Heavy armor, but he seems use to it so I can't outlast him and keep the crowd entertained. Now, how good is his visibility?' After dodging another attack, the sword user rushed forward with a wide swing from the right. The other gladiator saw the blow coming at the last second and raised his left arm up to block the blade, then trying to punch Deathwing with his right. Seeing the blow coming, the teenage gladiator quickly moved his left arm forward to deflect the spikes. Thinking he was in the clear, Deathwing was about to think of another plan when his gut told him to jump back. The gladiator was able to but enough distance between himself and his opponent that he wasn't impaled on the spiked knee, but he didn't get away unscratched as a long cut was present on his stomach. Thankfully a quick examination revealed it wasn't deep, but he should still wash it out. The crowd didn't care though, they cheered at the sight of first blood.

'Okay,' Deathwing thought to himself as he studied his opponent once more, 'some limited vision but enough to spot heavy attacks. Let's try something else.' Deathwing once more started charging forward, flipping his sword into a standard grip as he went before thrusting forward, the blade slicing between where two of the armored plates met. Although the wound was as bad as Deathwings, the teen still smiled since he found his strategy. As expected, the opponent couldn't react to such fast and surprising attacks, and the multiple cuts caused the man to bleed quickly and weaken. It was only a matter of time before he would make a mistake.

The mistake was an all too common one, the man over extended on one of his punches. Now significantly slowed down, Deathwing could take advantage of this. After dodging, the teen quickly step forward before sliding the man's spikes into the open space of his sword, then twisting the blade to trap the other metal. Once he had control of his opponent's arm, Deathwing quickly kicked one of his legs out, then sidestepped behind the man and locked his arm in an uncomfortable position behind his back, only now did he see the suit of armor had no back just the leather straps holding everything on, explaining how the man could match Deathwing's speed. As Deathwing was about to deliver an elbow strike to the back of the man's exposed neck, a blow that would rattle him long for Deathwing to move his sword to his throat, the man used his free hand to hold up two fingers, the signal for surrender. Deathwing complied with the request, releasing the man's arm before putting his sword to his opponent's throat, waiting for the audience's choice.

It must have been a good fight as the entire arena was standing on their feet, chanting " _missio_ " as they wanted the defeated man to live and come back to fight another day. Deathwing easily gave in to their demands, removing his blade and helping the man to his feet, thankful he wouldn't have to kill that day. As the pair exited the ring from separate gates, the crowd continued to cheer.

* * *

After giving his sword back to the soldier, Deathwing expected to be lead back to the holding room, instead his master along with the giant stood waiting for him before ordering the teen to follow. Despite not understanding what was happening, the gladiator did as he was told. As he walked through the tunnels and up to the stands, the teen couldn't help but wonder what was going on, it was against standards for the fighters to be with the civilians, but then again since this wasn't one of the larger cities those rules were rarely enforced. After a few minutes of walking, Deathwing saw why his master was doing this, in the stands was the beast master who still had a hold of the Hofferson axe.

Despite the presence of the gladiators, the two men greeted each other warmly, with Deathwing's master saying, " _My blond beauty should have her match soon, I'm sure it'll be quite a show_ ," as he took a seat beside the man, Deathwing and the giant standing behind the pair.

" _Yes it should be,_ " the beast master agreed before adding, " _it'll be a shame I'll only get the money instead of the girl_."

" _Why, you sound like you've already won, and that my girl won't survive._ " The master said with a chuckle.

The beast master gave a full blown laugh before saying, " _With the monster I brought today, it is a certainty._ "

" _I wouldn't be so sure,_ " the master said, the humor gone and his voice hardening as he said, " _the blond was trained by Deathwing, if anyone can survive your beast I'm sure she can._ "

The beast master's reply was simple, " _We shall see, we shall see._ "

Any further conversation was stopped when the horns sounded again. Deathwing watched as Astrid slowly stepped into the ring in her tunic and helmet, a dagger glistening in her right hand. Despite being a new comer, the blond still had many cheering for her as she walked into the ring, although Deathwing heard a few in the crowd calling for her to strip.

Despite the noise, Astrid didn't appear fazed as she copied what Deathwing had done earlier, placing her right hand over her heart until the arena official realized she didn't speak Latin. After the man's brief nod, Astrid turned away to face the other gate, her weapon held by her side and ready to strike.

After the gate rose and the beast strutted out into the arena, Deathwing felt his blood run cold at what he saw; a large, white coated tiger. Only the most skilled and wealthy beast masters could keep tigers as they were expensive to transport from the non-Roman territory to the East, not to mention the general challenge of trapping them. This one's unusual coat also spoke volumes, that the man had a lot of time and resources devoted to his craft in order to breed this specimen, which also meant it was trained to disregard its instinct to only attack from behind. With all this in his head, Deathwing hopped he'd taught the girl enough to survive.

The gladiator watched with batted breath as the beauty and the beast circled one another, the tension building as the audience wondered who would try to strike first. It would seem that patience would be something Deathwing would have to teach Astrid as the teen suddenly charged at the tiger, shocking everyone in the crowd. This simple action also seemed to shock the beast, as it stayed still until Astrid was practically in its face before jumping back as Astrid thrusted her dagger forward, cutting the beast's leg in the process.

Although the crowd cheered at the spectacle, Deathwing couldn't help but be cautious. While the wound bleed a lot, he could tell even from this distance that it was superficial and had no impact on the big cat's movement or health. If anything the strike only served to anger the beast as it charged forward and tried to swipe with its right paw, thankfully Astrid was able to jump back in time and avoided injury.

After landing, Astrid tried to keep the momentum of the fight in her favor and charged forward, planning to deliver a swipe from her blade, however she had to abandon her attack when the giant tiger held its ground and instead tried to bite the girl's arm when it was in range. Luckily Astrid managed to move her arm out of the way, but she couldn't stop herself as she barreled into the tiger, her previous momentum causing the beast to roll backwards onto its back while the girl was sent flying to the other side of the ring. Both combatants seemed to get the wind knocked out of them, yet the tiger recovered first. While Astrid was getting to her knees, the big cat had already gotten back up and was rushing toward her. The teen didn't have any time to move as the beast pounced forward, it's claws outstretched. In a blink of the eye, the beast had pounced and was laying still on the ring's floor.

Deathwing saw all of this in the stands, but as the tiger landed with its back to him, the gladiator couldn't see who the victor was. Finally the white tiger's shoulders began to move, the beast master smirked at the victory. That smirk quickly fell when the animal's body was pushed onto its back from underneath, a dagger buried to the cross guard in its chest. Deathwing quickly turned his attention to Astrid, who was still laying on the ground catching her breath. Despite the victory, Deathwing saw that she hadn't come away clean, even from this distance the gladiator could tell that the ten cuts she had on her shoulders and upper arms were deep and needed immediate attention, he could also tell that the helmet and facemask would need some polishing to get the scoff marks out.

The crowd was silent as Astrid shakily got to her feet and slowly walked to the beast's carcass. Reaching down, teen gripped the dagger and gave it a sharp yank, the blade coming free with a loud slurp. Only now did it seem Astrid realized the importance of her achievement as she raised the bloody dagger above her head and released a wordless cry of victory, the crowd soon joining in.

Perhaps no one in the crowd was happier about the blond's victory than Deathwing's master. Turning to the now scowling beast master, the man said, " _I told you, my fighters are the best. Now, I believe we had a wager?_ "

The beast master did not appear pleased to be reminded of his lost and looked as if he were about to say something insulting before walking off. Perhaps he would had done so if it weren't for the two well known and deadly fighters standing behind him. Wordlessly, the beast master surrendered the Hofferson axe and stomping off.

* * *

The master continued to grin as he lead Deathwing and the giant back into the arena's tunnels, the axe held securely in his hands. The younger gladiator recognized something in his master's grin and before he could stop himself said, " _What you're thinking isn't going to work_."

The group stopped as the master turned to his slave and asked, " _Did you say something Deathwing?_ "

Already knowing he was in trouble, but that he would face greater punishment if her lied, the teen said, " _I know what you're planning master, but it won't work. The girl isn't like us, she won't view it as a form of conquest or freedom. If you go through with this you'll break her, and you won't get a return on your investment._ "

The man stood still for a moment before nodding and saying, " _I will take your words into consideration, now remove your helmet._ " Deathwing didn't hesitate to follow the order. With a nod, the master gave the giant an order, which he complied with as he struck the teen with a vicious backhand, sending the gladiator to the stone floor. Just as quickly as he fell, Deathwing stood back up, blood leaking from his split lip. The master seemed satisfied with this since he declared, " _Never speak to me like that again._ " After Deathwing nodded, the group walked back to the holding room in silence.

* * *

Once inside, Deathwing quickly took care of the cut on his stomach while the giant barley put a foot in the door before he was ordered to get ready for his match. Just as soon as the man left, Astrid walked into the room, removing her helmet once inside. Although her skin looked a little pale, the blond couldn't keep the smile off her face as she walked to Deathwing and, surprisingly, hugged him as she said, "Thank you, I'd be dead without your help."

Deathwing smiled himself before padding her head and saying, "It was nothing." The gladiator then noticed the wounds from the tiger claws, which were much worse than he thought. As he lead the girl to the back wall of the room, he declared, "We need to get those taken care of."

As the girl took a seat, she asked, "And how are we going to do that?"

After grabbing a few items from a shelf, the gladiator came back with a small jar, a needle, a spool of thread, and a stick. Taking the lid off the far, the teen showed Astrid it was filled with a clear liquid-like substance, which he dipped his fingers in to show it had a honey-like consistency. "First we need to clean the wounds," he then looked at the other teen and said, "you'll need to take your tunic off."

"Excuse me?" Astrid challenged.

Deathwing rolled his eyes before saying, "Your clothes are covering some of the wounds, and trust me you don't want this on your tunic, it doesn't wash out." Astrid was still hesitant to do as she was asked, focused on the men lounging around the room. Getting tired of her modesty, Deathwing was about to rip off the tunic himself, but instead said, "Just sit in this corner and none of them will see you. As for me, it's nothing I haven't seen already." After a moment, Astrid gave a brief nod, but turned her back to Deathwing before taking off her tunic.

Happy for the minor achievement, Deathwing set to work spreading the substance over the open wounds, smiling as Astrid gave multiple sighs of relief due to the cooling nature of the substance. Just when he finished applying the substance, the blond asked, "What is this anyway?"

"Diluted Toothless spite." Deathwing admitted as he got a washcloth to wipe up the extra.

The gladiator was sure Astrid would turn to glare at him if she wasn't so preoccupied in preserving her modesty. He could hear the edge in her voice as she asked, "You put dragon spit in my wounds?"

"Yes," Deathwing admitted unashamed, "this stuff works wonders in cleaning out bad cuts, not to mention it seems to help with healing." He then offered the stick to the young woman as he said, "I've still got to stich up the wounds, you might want this."

Instead, Astrid pushed the wood away before saying, "I'm a Viking, I'm use to getting hurt, do your worst."

Despite thinking it was idiotic, the gladiator still complied with the request and began sewing the wounds shut. It was Deathwing's turn to be surprised as although Astrid released a slight groan of pain every now and again as the needle dug through her flesh, she didn't move. Do to this, the gladiator was able to patch the girl up quickly before declaring he was done and she could put her tunic back on. After quickly looking over the expert stitching, the blond commented, "Looks like I'm going to have a few more scars."

"Pretty unique ones," Deathwing said, adding his own opinion, "I don't think I know anyone who survived a full set of tiger claws." Anything Astrid would have said was cut off when the crowd roared. "And that would be giant's 98 win, along with the last match of the day. Time to go home."

Just moments after Deathwing said this the soldiers opened the door and ushered everyone out and back to cage. It was the same retinue as usual although Deathwing saw his master directing a group of his personal slaves to carry a large parcel. Not giving much thought to it, the gladiator just leaned back and watched the city pass by on the ride back to the school.

* * *

Once back at the school, the gladiators were herded over to the showers to get cleaned. As each person entered the area, they were stopped and forced to strip. For once Astrid complied, the earlier adrenaline from her fight now gone and she was too tried to make a scene, however she was surprised when Deathwing grabbed her arm and dragged her partway down the line of showers. Despite the large number of gladiators taken to the games today, this section remained deserted. Astrid was about to thank her tutor for the help, only to find him already washing so she followed his example, finding the water to have a refreshing warmth but not to be scolding hot.

As she scrubbed away the dirt and blood from her body, the blond tried to reach between her shoulder blades only to feel a sudden pain in both her arms. Seeing her plight, Deathwing, who was almost finished washing, rolled his eyes before roughly grabbing Astrid and turning her back towards him so he could scrub the grim away himself. Despite the suddenness of the action, Astrid still thanked him for his help, but the gladiator only said, "I couldn't go anywhere until you were done, you don't know where to go after this. Now let's hurry before there's a line.

Astrid only became more confused when Deathwing once more grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her to a tent set up in the practice fields. "What the Hel are you doing?" she asked as she tried to cover herself with her free hand since neither had been given their clothes back.

Instead of answering her, Deathwing laughed as the destination came closer, with no one around, which caused the gladiator to say, "Yes, we're the first ones," as he lead them into the tent. Inside where two woman with thick arms standing behind two wooden tables. Deathwing didn't hesitate to climb up and lay face down on one of the tables, yet Astrid was still hesitant to follow his example. Chuckling at the blond's nervousness, the seasoned fighter said, "Go on, you'll like this, I promise." Remembering that the young man had never done anything to steer her wrong, Astrid complied.

Deathwing could see that even after Astrid climbed up onto the table she was incredible nervous. Her nerves continued until the woman beside her placed her hands on the blond and began the massage. Deathwing chuckled as the girl went slack jawed and started moaning in near-orgasmic bliss. Somehow the girl was able to talk during the thorough rub down, "I can't believe how good this feels, I haven't been this relaxed in years!"

That simple statement only made Deathwing laugh harder. "And therein lies the contradiction about us," the teen said as the women finished up the massage, "we are the lowest social class, yet if we do our job well are treated like royalty." Once finished, the two hopped off the tables and Deathwing lead his student over to a few crates containing new clothes. After directing the girl as to which crate to look in for a new tunic, Deathwing quickly found his own custom clothes before something caught his eye in one of the surplus crates. Taking pity on the blond, the teen grabbed it and after waiting for her to put on a tunic said, "Hey Astrid, catch."

The girl reacted immediately and caught the flying fabric. Looking at it revealed it to be similar to the loincloth her teacher wore in the arena, only this cloth had a thicker waste band and the front and back connected rather than hung freely. When she raised a questioning eyebrow, Deathwing said, "I don't know why, but you seem intent on keeping people from seeing you naked. The tunics don't cover much on windy days, so you might find that useful." Now understanding what the garment was, Astrid quickly thanked the gladiator before sliding the clothing up her legs and under the tunic.

Once both were dressed, Deathwing lead the pair back to the dinning area where the seasoned fighter was given bread along with chicken and a fish to eat. Seeing Astrid's slightly dejected look at only being given some bread and a bowl of porridge, the teen quickly slid his fish onto her plate before grabbing a new one for himself. Despite being thankful for the extra food, and protein, Astrid didn't make a big deal about it to keep Deathwing from getting punished.

As they ate, the master stood by the wall and began reading from a scroll while a house slave added new markings to the Wall. When questioned by Astrid what was happening, the other teen just explained that he was reading off who won and who lost that day. However, things changed when the man reached the end of the scroll. " _And now,_ " the man began, " _we welcome a new name to the Wall_ ," here the master motioned for Astrid to come forward, Deathwing followed after her to serve as a translator. " _This woman,_ " the man began again, " _entertained the crowd by defeating one of the beast master's prized white tigers!"_ Here everyone in the school cheered, happy someone from the school could do such an amazing feat. " _Now, let us all welcome you're new sister-in-arms, The Tigress!_ " Here the master presented Astrid with a gift. It must have cost a lot, but somehow the man was able to buy the tiger carcass and turn its pelt into a cape and vest. Although slightly embarrassed from all the attention, Astrid still accepted the gift, resulting in more cheers.

* * *

The celebration lasted for a few more hours before Deathwing went took Astrid back to their now shared out cove. Although Toothless was beyond happy to see Deathwing again, the gladiator could see that Astrid was still hesitant to be near the dragon. The teen really didn't care about it at the moment, much more concerned with getting some sleep. Yet this was not to be as two guards came to the gate and said, " _Deathwing, you're needed._ " The teen in question sided before getting up, but Astrid grabbed his wrist, fear in her eyes as she asked, "Where are you going?"

"The master just needs me to do something, I'll be back by morning." Saying that only served to make Astrid even more afraid, prompting the gladiator to say, "Relax, you've got Toothless with you."

The gladiator was already out the gate when Astrid said, "That's what I'm afraid of." Left alone, Astrid slowly turned to see Toothless glaring at her, before the dragon huffed and turned away from the girl. Not wanting the possible anger the beast, Astrid slowly backed towards a wall and sat down, hoping Deathwing would be back soon.

* * *

Unfortunately, this kind of task was nothing new to Deathwing. The streets were deserted as the two guards led the teen through the market place and towards the living quarters of the upper class until they stopped in front of a good sized house. 'No other guards, no unscheduled fights.' the gladiator thought in relief before one of the guards spoke up, " _Third room on the right. We'll be back in the morning, don't get caught and don't run._ " With that Deathwing was left alone to walk into the house.

As he slowly walked to the designated room, the gladiator admired the interior, noting that while the furniture and artwork were well made, they weren't the finest, 'Definitely not a senate, probably a Centurion, please let him be out on campaign right now.'

Arriving at the room, the gladiator found a girl with brown hair, for some reason he wished she was blond) a few years younger wearing a toga while reclining on a couch, a small table next to her had a number of flagons resting upon it, probably empty. Poor thing was probably nervous beyond belief. Suddenly the girl spoke up, " _My servants saw your fight today, they said it was awe inspiring._ "

Slowly Deathwing walked toward her as he said, " _I am always happy to entertain the good people of the Empire._ " each word made him want to throw up.

The girl looked down at her lap before asking, " _Can you entertain me tonight?_ "

Moving behind the girl, the gladiator encircled her in his arms before asking, " _Have you done this before?_ "

The girl shook her head before saying, " _No, but all my friends and a few of the newer servants always say how amazing it is, some of them recommended you._ " The girl moaned slightly as the older teen gently sucked on the girl's neck.

" _Just sit back and relax_ ," Deathwing whispered into her ear, _"I'll make sure you enjoy yourself_." He finished before gently biting the girl's earlobe and pulling the pin holding up part of her toga. As he got to work, the gladiator couldn't help but hope his friends back at the school were okay.

* * *

Somehow Astrid had fallen asleep sitting up. She didn't know how long she was asleep before she was awoken when the gate to the out cove opened. Thinking Deathwing had returned, the girl smiled and turned to greet him, only to frown when she saw three of the guards walking into the chamber. They began speaking among themselves, and although she could understand them, she could guess their intentions.

" _Are you sure about this?_ " One of them asked, " _The boss will be mad if we damage the high valued goods."_

" _Relax, the only one who understands her is Deathwing, and he's not here tonight_." The leader declared.

" _And the beast?_ " the last guard questioned.

" _Only cares for Deathwing, now keep a look out while you wait your turn._ "

As the first guard advanced, a pair of glowing green eyes in the darkness was his only warning. Suddenly Toothless pounced out of the shadows, his muzzled head pushing the man back and knocking the air out of him. Seeing the near mythical beast acting hostile, the two look outs quickly ran away. The leader seemed like he was about to stay and fight, until he heard the dragon growling, at which point he turned tail as well.

Seeing all of this take place, Astrid hesitantly got up and walked behind the dragon. Slowly reaching out, Astrid stroked Toothless' neck. The dragon quickly snapped its head around to see who was touching him and regarded the teen with green slit eyes that quickly widened and became circular before turning around and walking further back into the out cove. Not knowing what she was doing, Astrid followed the dragon, bending down to stroke just above its eye as she said, "I still think dragons are evil," Toothless huffed while rolling his eyes, "but I suppose you're the exception to the rule." Astrid finished. She was unprepared for the dragon to grab her with his front legs and lick her face, purring all the while. Seeing how she wasn't escaping the Nightfury's grip, Astrid settled into her new bed for the night.

* * *

As they said, the guards came back in the morning to walk Deathwing back to the school. Just like every time he was assigned to do something like this, the teen felt hollow on the way back. Although he knew he'd need to do some forging today, his work-log having gotten backed up due to training Astrid, the gladiator just wanted the sit in his out cove with his friend or at least work out some of his frustration on a training dummy.

After what seemed like an eternity, the trio finally got back to the school. When Deathwing walked back to the out cove to wake up Astrid, he couldn't help but smile as he saw her sleeping underneath Toothless, somef of her hair sticking up from dragon spit. Giving a quick whistle woke the Nightfury, who quick bounded over and flattened Deathwing underneath him, purring to show how much he was missed, "I missed you to bud." He then worked his way out from underneath he dragon and turned to Astrid, "What happened to all dragons are evil?"

"So some are nice," Astrid confessed, "it just so happens none of the nice ones are around me village. Where did you go last night?"

"Just helping a patron with a request." Deathwing quickly said, "Let's get something to eat then work on your training, I'm interested in what you can do with your family axe." This seem to satisfy Astrid since she was given both a challenge and the chance to show her family pride. As he followed the girl to the tables, Deathwing couldn't help but smile once more.

* * *

 **Man this was a long chapter, 24 and a half pages.**

 **A lot happened in this monster of a chapter. Astrid was introduced, we learned a bit more of the world, and got a few good fight scenes. Astrid and Toothless also managed to get to a somewhat neutral place in their relationship.**

 **So I hope everyone enjoyed the last of my "New Story Four Pack" to get update. Since this is the last to get updated I'm now going to update the stories as I feel like and as inspiration strikes. I don't know which one will get updated first but one things for sure, I'm never again starting so many stories at once.**

 **Despite the developments in the chapter, there are still a few questions such as…**

 **What is Toothless like in a fight?**

 **What will Deathwing's and Astrid's next opponents be like?**

 **Will Deathwing reach 100 wins?**

 **For the answeres to these questions and more, stay tuned for future chapters of** _ **Deathwing**_ **! For now, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


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